Smiles for Kids Blog
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Weighing the risks
From the San Diego Union Tribune - United States
Driven by diet fatigue, bullying and anxious parents, hundreds of obese children in the United States are going under the knife each year in a last-ditch attempt to shed excess pounds.Read the whole story here: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20080921-9999-lz1n21risks.html
Weight-loss surgeries that were considered experimental for adults only eight years ago are gaining popularity among overweight adolescents, some as young as 11.
Friday, September 19, 2008
A New Ear
From WFtv.com - Orlando,FL,USA
See the microtia video here: http://www.wftv.com/health/17512415/detail.html
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Chinese-American returns as an athlete
From the International Herald Tribune
She marched into the National Stadium — the Bird's Nest — last weekend for the opening ceremony of Beijing's Paralympic Games, representing the United States as a member of its women's sitting volleyball team.Read the whole story here: http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/09/10/sports/AS-OLY-Paralympics-Returning-to-China.php
How different this was from her early life in southern China; an abandoned infant who was raised in an orphanage in Kunming until she was adopted 13 years ago by the American couple Charles and Marilyn Kriss.
"SuGui goes from a forsaken situation to marching into the Bird's Nest in front of 90,000 fans," explained Charles, her adopted father. "It's a great testimony."
SuGui was born with shortened fingers on both hands, and a right foot that's not fully formed — probably due to a condition known as Amniotic Band Syndrome. She said her recollections of the orphanage are faint.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Seeing the inside:
An emotional and hopeful story of a son born with cleft lip, cleft palate, syndactyly, and club foot from the StarPhoenix - Saskatoon,Saskatchewan,Canada
But hours after she delivered, when she was fully out of the anesthesia, a pediatrician came to Radeshka's room, holding X-rays of her baby.Read the whole story here: http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/news/national/story.html?id=9fb7c936-4a00-4312-a9b9-8bd6f2d58144
She could feel her panic rising as he began: The baby had a severe cleft lip -- a vertical split in the upper lip -- and cleft palate, an opening in the roof of the mouth. The nose was almost entirely missing.
He had fused fingers on his right hand and a left club foot.
His eyes were too wide apart and improperly formed.
"He started with the hands, the head, the eyes. I looked at my husband and he said, 'Desh, I couldn't tell you.'